"In war, there are no unwounded soldiers." – Jose Narosky

THE KARAMETIYA VILLAGE MASSACRE

The plight of border villages most often comes to light during a time of crises or attacks. The Karametiya village and its neighbouring villages have had their share of pain during the three decades of war that has burdened the country. Bordering the Gal Oya National Park, the village found itself a victim of nightmarish events on 21 February when it sacrificed more than a dozen of its inhabitants to the guns of the LTTE. In an attempt to discover what happened on that fateful day, we found that the conflict was not their only predicament…

LTTE murders

The image that remained in my mind was that of a lifeless body of a four-year-old boy, a bullet wound glaring red like a third eye in his head, being cradled in the arms of an STF officer.

“We found the boy, Sajith among bodies under a bed when we went in search of survivors a few hours after the massacre,” J.M. Wijepala, a Karametiya villager, his face etched with pain related, “Even though he had been shot in the head he was moving slightly and a man from the STF and I carried the boy out immediately. Half-way, after seeing the spectacle of the massacre I just did not have any strength left in me and my knees gave way.” The STF person, he said, had then gathered the boy in his arms and run with him the rest of the way.

With 16 people killed and 10 injured by a group of LTTE terrorists last Saturday, the massacre of farmers and their families at Karametiya village in Inginiyagala, Moneragala District sent shockwaves throughout the country. However, the Nelliyadda area where the Karametiya village is situated has been no stranger to LTTE related activity in the past. The Principal of the Nelliyadda school said that in 1991 an LTTE camp had been discovered a few miles within the Gal Oya National Park bordering the village. “Again in 1992, an old farmer from Nelliyadda was murdered in his chena.

He was found with his throat slit. In the late 90’s the LTTE shot six people who had gone near the forest from the village,” he elaborated adding that closer to the main Mahaoya Road three vehicles had been burnt and the people travelling in them killed at the same time. As a result, many of the villages that had sprung up close to the National Park and the river that borders it had been deserted; its inhabitants either setting up roots further away from the forest or crossing over to Ampara to start afresh there.”

“The Kurunduvinna and Damanegama villages that were around three kilometers away from Nelliyadda were all deserted at the time. With the war showing signs of ending in recent times, people have returned to their routine lives and some of them even moved back closer to the forest as the soil is more fertile near the river,” the Nelliyada school Principal continued saying that Karametiya was one such village that had established itself over recent years.

Nothing of such magnitude

“We were inside our houses when there were sounds of gunshots in the distance. It was around 3.30 in the afternoon and as there is an army camp several miles away, we thought they were shooting for practice,” said W.M. Gunapala one of the survivors of Karametiya who was with his wife and three children at the time. “Then we heard the sound of gunfire closer, further up river where my uncle lives. A few minutes later my cousin came running to our house shouting that his mother and father had been killed by men who had shouted at them in Tamil,” he continued adding that at that point he had grabbed his children and his gun and after telling his wife to follow, began to run. “As soon as we came out of the house I saw several men with guns running behind our house. They were in army uniforms. Telling my wife to get to safety with my children I shot into the air. It was then that the attackers moved away and ran back into the forest,” Gunapala said. He had then run a kilometer or so to the neighbouring Nelliyadda village.

“Gunapala came running towards my shop on Saturday evening without a shred of clothing on his body, screaming that all of Karametiya were dead, that they were being shot at,” said W.M. Ranasinghe, a tea shop mudalali in Nelliyadda. “Grabbing my gun I had begun to run down the road to Karametiya when a police jeep pulled up–somebody had already called the police and they had got there in an about 10 minutes. Anyway I ran on ahead and as I neared the periphery of the village I found two more dead, with their bicycles fallen beside them,” he added. Ranasinghe had then gone into one of the houses and found blood close to a doorway. Retreating a few steps, he had shot eight of his 10 bullets into the air as he edged closer. “I heard the sound of a radio, when I went in I saw a small child dead, shot in the head. I ran back out and hid behind a tree and made my way to the other houses,” he said adding that the police had surrounded the area by this time.

“In one house I found one woman injured, she had tried to get under the bed head first and as a result had been shot in the waist. There was another older woman dead beside her. She had crept under the bed feet first, her head was in full view at the end of it and they had shot her just like that. In another house I found Gunapala’s youngest son who had been unable to run away with his parents. He had just a few scrapes on his elbows and head – he had been small enough to fit under the bed so he was safe,” the shopkeeper said.

Later on more bodies had been found a few metres into the forest, where some of the villagers had run to for safety and as Ranasinghe put it, he had not seen anything of this magnitude in his life. The death toll numbered 14 by evening with 10 injured rushed to the Ampara and Kandy hospitals. By Tuesday morning the body of another 14-year old boy was found in one of the houses and a 36-year-old man succumbed to his gunshot injuries in the Kandy Hospital increasing the death toll to 16. Eleven funerals were held on Monday afternoon and a mass grave cut to bury the dead. Out of the 16 families that live in Karametiya, five were laid side by side to rest. Throughout the week, the villagers were expecting to dig more graves and bury more of their families.

“They do not care about us”

Ranasinghe went onto voice much of the fears that the other villagers had. “We are willing to stay in our village if adequate protection is given to us,” he stressed. “It does not need to be the army or STF that has to be posted here–Civil Defence Forces would suffice. The only security given to us is during weekdays are for the school children.

On weekends not a single home guard is posted to the village. If there were at least two last Saturday, this catastrophe could have been prevented.” Moreover, it was mentioned that Civil Defence Forces who know the ins and outs of the village and the chenas should be given for village security. “Most of the time they are posted to Ampara, Akkaraipattu or Siyambalanduwa and it is pointless if we get people who do not know the lay of the land,” said J.M. Wijepala. “Worst of all we have told the local ministers to do something about our roads. Yet the day the incident happened it rained so hard the roads were impassable. We had to bring the bodies in sacks sinking to our knees in mud,” he said adding that authorities were ignorant of their plight and hardly cared about them.

P.B. Nandasena who lost six members of his family in the massacre including his parents and sister said that for the last few days they had nothing to eat. “We cannot go into our homes yet and cook anything. The little grain we stored in our houses is blood spattered. Not only did they kill our families but the LTTE burnt some of our chena’s before they left,” he said adding that a two month long drought had ruined most of their crops even before the attack, leaving them with nothing to eat.

“Not one of our so called leaders gave us a little dry rations to cook and eat, only the army and the police have been kind enough to give us rice parcels and a few things to eat. Soon we might have to resort to eating grass if nothing is given to us,” he said.

“What is worse is that we can’t even afford to go and see our relatives warded in the Kandy Hospital,” T.B. Karunaratne another villager spoke. “Today one of the villagers had lost a family member at the Kandy Hospital and they had asked us to come all the way there to identify the body. In order to bring the body back it would cost us around Rs 20,000. None of us can even dream up that amount.”

The villagers pointed their fingers at the authorities, saying that though they have told them about their issues in the past nothing has ever been done about them. “We wanted a bus badly for this road and we were promised one time and again, but no bus arrived. Finally the Veddah Chieftain in Rathugala, donated us a bus which had been presented to him by someone,” shopkeeper Ranasinghe said. “They only come during the time of elections when they promise to fix the roads and make everything prosper. After that we are only met with emptiness.”

Security measures

Police spokesman SSP Ranjith Gunasekara said that security has been tightened in the Nelliyadda and Karametiya villages.

“Two bunkers are being built after discussions with the villagers. One has been built in the town centre and another one close to the forest borders.”

I am too afraid to go back to my home,” W.M. Gunapala said. “We stay in our houses at night very much afraid, working in our chena’s is out of the question and so we lose the little crop we have.” Most others in the neighbouring villages too expressed their fears but said that if proper security measures are put in place, they would be able to get back to their lives.

About this Blog

This blog concerns the Sri Lankans fight against LTTE terrorism.LTTE is a ruthless terror outfit which fights for an ethnically pure, separate Tamil homeland for Tamils living in Sri Lanka since 1983. The outfit is well known for its extreme tribalism and nefarious crimes against soft targets specially the women and children. During its two and half decade long terrorist war against Sri Lankan people, LTTE has killed over 70,000 people mostly civilians in its ethnic cleansing raids, indiscriminate bomb attacks, suicide blasts, etc. LTTE is also in top of the UN's list of shame for using child soldiers in war. As a tactical measure the outfit uses only young female cadres and male child soldiers for the front lines.

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Calander

The Eelam bubble

The Tamil diaspora still talk of winning the "Eelam" war, of seeing "the light at the end of the tunnel of a mythical Tamil state" , even as six elite army divisions strategically lay siege to the Wanni heartland. As it is there is a light, that of a fast-approaching express train that would steam roll the "Eealm" myth to the sun baked Wanni floor forever.

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Their sacrifice will not be in vain….

"I am a Sri Lankan and I am free today because someone fought, bled or died in my place. I vow that as long as there is breath in my body that that their sacrifice will not be in vain."

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Smell Of Victory

Smell that? Napalm, son. Nothing in the world smells like that.I love the smell of napalm in the morning.One time we had a hill bombed, for 12 hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one enemy body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like... victory. Someday this war's gonna end.
Apocalypse Now(1979)

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Give to those who have given

They died for something that may be trivial to many. A piece of high ground on a salty sand dune, or a landing area in a landmine filled beach, or simply protecting a cadjan bunker in some remote corner of the island.
But when dusk settles on this protracted war, every sacrifice these thousands made will have a reason and purpose.
We should pay tribute to all our fallen heroes who gave their today for our tomorrow.

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| by N.S.Venkataraman ( January 23, 2015, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) Several decades back, Karl Marx gave strong call to the workers that “you have nothing to lose except the chain”. This call of Karl Marx resounded across the world, as it was then appropriate to the issues and problems faced by the blue collar workmen. It resulted in the development of ve […]

| by S. Chandrasekharan( January 23, 2015, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) As expected the dead line of Jan 22, 2015 for the promulgation of a new constitution is being missed. The political parties refused to compromise and made little headway in drafting a new constitution. One whole year was wasted.Too late in the day and very close to the deadline the eig […]

| by Tisaranee Gunasekara“Is it always the same SpringWho reprises her role forever?”Neruda (The Book of Questions)( January 22, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Why were the police slower than slow in acting against marauding Parliamentarian Palitha Thevarapperuma? Wasn’t this tardiness due to the fact that the alleged miscreant is on the governing side? […]

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Swift, Silent & Deadly

Fear The LRRP

The LRRP has been very successful in covert operations against the LTTE terrorists in the northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. Its members were so successful in assassinating key LTTE figures that many LTTE leaders refused to come out of their jungle bunkers before the 2002 ceasefire was implemented. After the resumption of hostilities, it is believed that the LRRP units conducted operations in the LTTE held northern province too.
The LTTE has accused the Sri Lankan Deep Penetration Units of launching attacks on LTTE leaders in their areas, although the Sri Lankan Government denies any involvement in these attacks. The teams have had success against LTTE leaders such as military intelligence leader Colonel Charls and many leaders. Other success have included observing LTTE training camps and calling in air strikes. The LRRP's successes and dedicated operators have garnered a fearful reputation among the LTTE.
The SL Army commander Gen.Sarath Fonseka had recently acknowledged that LRRP units were used to beat the LTTE at their own game.It was later revealed that LTTE, who were masters at jungle warfare refused to engage in combat and withdrew from their positions instead of holding their ground because of these elite soldiers. SL LRRP unit falls under SF3 (Special Forces 3rd Regiment)they and SF1,SF2,SF4 & Commandos played a vital role in eliminating the LTTE including V.Piribaharan a.k.a Sun God a.k.a Supreme Commander of the LTTE. LTTE according to FBI is was the most dangerous terrorist group in the world.

Things you didn’t do

Remember the day I borrowed your brand new car and I dented it?

I thought you'd kill me but you didn't.

And remember the time I dragged you to the beach and you said it would rain and it did?

I thought you'd say, "I told you so", but you didn't.

Do you remember the time I flirted with all the guys to make you jealous and you were.

I thought you'd leave me, but you didn't.

Do you remember the time I spilled strawberry pie all over your car rug.

I thought you'd hit me but you didn't.

And remember the time I forgot to tell you the dance was formal and you showed up in jeans?

I thought you'd drop me. But you didn't.

Yes, there were lots of things you didn't do.

But you put up with me and you loved me and you protected me.

There were lots of thing I wanted to make up to you when you returned from War.

But you didn't.

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noreply@blogger.com (Malinda Seneviratne)

Silent Heros – The LRRPs’

"Stealth, bravery and a commitment to duty, these were the attributes of the men of the Sri Lankas' Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRPs). Going deep inside LTTE held enemy lines, danger was their watchwood & Military Skills was their only protection."

Victory Day : Lest We Forget

It was on the night of the 19th of May and dawn of 20th 2009 that Sri Lankan rid itself completely of the plague known as Tamil terrorism and became a country where there is freedom of movement for all.

Let us remember those that gave their lives to make this a reality and remember all the misguided LTTE youth who died in vain with compassion.

I had left for Jordan the day after my father’s 93rd birthday, on June 27th. He had had a party as usual, and all the reception rooms downstairs, the dining room and the rectangular verandah in front, and the large drawing room with its extensions, the round verandah giving on to the garden and the […]

The third country I visited in June 2014, in that period of quietude when nothing was moving in Sri Lanka except for an increasing sense of decline, was Jordan. I did not count it as a new country, for I had stayed overnight there in a hotel, when I was traveling to Turkey early in […]

Oddly enough, as my father was fading, the world of my other great rock in these last years, Ena, also shrank. In 2012 we had celebrated her 90th birthday in Yala, quite a large crowd though initially she had told me that she wanted only me and Shanthi Wilson. Of course she could not have […]

In retrospect it is clear that there was no hope of stopping Mahinda Rajapaksa rushing headlong into disaster, given that so many of those around him, while pursuing their own agendas, had lulled him into a false sense of security. But it still seemed necessary to try, and I did have at least one significant […]

In the month after my extended 60th birthday celebrations, I travelled extensively. This was not however to any new countries, so I remained stuck on 89 for a few months more. But I was able to get to fascinating places in countries I had been to previously. In India this was to the North East, […]

After those idyllic few days with my father at my cottage, I went to Algeria, determined to see more of the Roman remains of Africa, and if possible get to the deep desert. Years earlier I had bought guidebooks for Tunisia and Libya, which had better sites, and I had managed to get to Tunisia […]

From the start it was clear that 2014 would be a bleak year. My father was much weaker than before, and had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. We knew that this was a slow process and the doctors said there was no need for any interventions since old age was likely to do for him […]

After Ethiopia, I felt I should see the Sudan, not only in search of other aspects of the Nile, but also because I realized that it was the repository of many splendours from the Egyptian Empires. The pyramidic culture had extended far to the South, and then so had Hellenistic civilization, following the conquest of […]

Much of this series has been about my personal travels, and the slow but steady dissolution of the world I had known. To dwell only on these would however give a misleading impression of what occupied me most during the years from 2012, when I began to realize that my efforts to promote reform were […]

With Lakmahal slowly folding up as it were, and the country in decline, my principal solace in 2014 was travel. Asia and Europe I knew well, and I had been to enough of South America to feel I had seen enough of it for the moment. The Middle East too I had seen a fair […]

rajivawijesinha

Nineteen ’til I Die

"Last night it rained. And I stood under my parents’ porch and smoked. The deluge of water on the tin sheeting drowned out everything — traffic, the neighbours, the sound of the TV. Just me and the rain and the dark, like it had been on that first night in December 1990. I stepped out from the porch, and the rain put out my cigarette in an instant. I spat away the shreds of tobacco and let the rain soak me. Remembering them, as I have done a hundred thousand times in the last eighteen years.

I can remember the ridged steel flooring of the Y-8′s cargo bay like it was yesterday, digging into my arse as I sit packed in with my platoon, flying to Palay.

I remember the smell of wet sandbags on that first night on the FDL at Elephant Pass. Looking out into the black ink beyond the perimeter. Here be Tigers.

And the ten-man patrols through knee-deep water, trying to be quiet. “Kata vahapang, huththo,“

The hot, dusty days and wet, rainy nights. Mosquitoes. And being tired. So tired. Every day. All the time.

And contact. Finally. What we’d lived for, longed for, suffered for. What we’d watched in movies and read about in books. Contact. Sex for virgins. With red tracers. And the elephant sitting on my back, squeezing the breath out of my lungs as I tried to hold my rifle steady. The hammer roar of 7.62-mm fire, gunflashes blurring the distant, running figures.

None of us were over twenty, most eighteen or nineteen. Ariyaratne, the section commander, and Dias, the machine-gunner; our parents, old men of twenty-four. Combat veterans of the Sinha Rifles. The hard core.

And the killing. I remember every single one. The blood, the eyes. The smell. I remember Rohantha getting hit by the .50. I remember the sixteen-year-old bayoneted girl with the long plaited hair come loose. I remember kneeling at a tube well and washing the crusted blood out from under my finger nails.

Down time. Sitting in abandoned tin buildings in the Saltern Siding. We’d strip down to OG shorts and slippers and our Death By Bullets T-shirts. We never talked about victory, about killing Prabha, or defeating the Tigers. Our personal goals were to survive, to do well, to not let each other or our regiment down. Sura talking about the XT-250 he wanted to buy. Husni and Sanjeeva talking about girls. Dias and I cleaning guns and talking about optics.

I thought I knew them all very well, but now I realize I didn’t really. And now, sadly, I can’t recall their faces in detail. And sometimes I have to think hard to remember all nine names.

Well, it looks like it’s over now. And I wish those guys were here to see it. I wish we could all go out for a drink and talk about EPS and catch up on our lives. But it’s too late for all that. It all took too long. I wish they were all in their thirties, like me. Maybe they’d have wives, and children, or not. I wish they could walk down the road and be offered kiri bath by the trishaw drivers. I wish they were alive."